American Woodworker: Project of the Month: Frame and Panel Hope Chest

Having made the mortises, cut the tenons to fit them. You won’t have to measure. Simply use the parts you’ve got so far. To get started, install the dado set with all its chippers and raise the blade the height of the outer wall of the groove (Photo 6). This is the same distance as the tenon’s shoulder, because this is a flush joint.

Try this dado setting on a test piece (Photo 7). Adjust the height of the dado set until the face of the tenon is exactly in line with the groove (Photo 8). Then cut both ends of all the long and short rails. You’ll be revisiting this setting later, so improvise a simple paper indicator to record it (Photo 9).

Cutting the opposite face of the tenon requires lowering the dado set. Leave the fence where it is. Place a rail with its face side up next to the blade. Lower the blade until it lines up with the bottom wall of the groove, just as you did before. Cut a test piece and try it in the mortise (Photo 10). This is a finicky setting, so it will take a number of attempts to get it right. Record this blade height, too.

Saw each haunch on the bandsaw (Photo 11). Lay it out directly from the mortise (Fig. A, Detail 3). The haunch serves three purposes: It fills in the groove; adds more gluing surface; and widens the tenon to fight racking of the case. It’s great. I use a haunched joint in table legs, too.

Finish the legs by beveling the inside corners (Fig. A, Detail 3). Tilt the blade away from the fence at a 15-degree angle. Clean up the saw marks on the jointer.

SET THE DADO BLADE HEIGHT for cutting the tenons. It should be even with the groove in a leg. Fine-tune the setting by trial and error. It’s best to start out low and work your way up.

CUT A CHEEK on the face side of a test piece. Set the saw’s fence to the length of the tenon. Take two passes across the tenon’s face to remove all of the waste. Make sure the end of the rail is tight against the fence during the second pass.

CHECK THE ACCURACY of your cut by holding a tight-fitting stick of wood in the groove. Run your finger across the tenon and stick. They should be perfectly even.

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Hope Chest • Tools, Materials, & Sources • Exploded View of Hope Chest
The Grooves & Mortices • The Tenons • The Tenons (Continued)
The Stiles & Panels and The Top & Bottom • Assembly